EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Keith Van Horn scored 30
points and reserve Lucious Harris contributed down the stretch
as the New Jersey Nets defeated the Toronto Raptors, 106-99, for
their fifth win in six games.

Van Horn scored 14 points in the decisive third quarter as the
Nets took a 77-64 advantage into the fourth. He finished
11-of-20 from the floor and also grabbed 12 rebounds.

The Nets led by as many as 18 points in the third period but the
Raptors closed to 90-87 with 3:11 remaining after Dee Brown
drilled a 3-pointer. Brown led Toronto reserves with 14 points,
going 4-of-12 from beyond the arc.

Harris answered Brown's shot with a jumper from the right wing
to push the lead to five before Tracy McGrady made a driving
layup to pull Toronto within 92-89 with 2:41 left.

But Harris, who scored a season-high 17 points, hit another
jumper and Van Horn followed with a pair of free throws to make
it 96-89 with 1:32 left. Harris made four free throws in the
final 40 seconds to seal the win.

"It felt good to be on the court," Harris said. "I stayed ready
in case he (coach Don Casey) called on me. I knew I had to
respond. A role-player has to be ready to step up and hit his
shots."

Stephon Marbury added 20 points and nine assists for the Nets,
who won the season series, 2-1.

Rookie Vince Carter scored 26 points but had only six in the
second half for Toronto, which has dropped three straight
following a club-record six-game winning streak.

"We're getting everybody's best game now," Carter said. "We have
to learn how to handle that. We have to have the same intensity
that we had at the beginning of the year. We're not handling it
well."

Seeking the first playoff appearance in team history, the
Raptors fell a half-game behind New York for the final Eastern
Conference playoff berth.

Leading 45-43 at halftime, the Nets opened the third quarter
with a 10-2 spurt to open a 10-point cushion. Van Horn, who
made all eight of his free throw attempts, capped the spurt when
he sank a foul shot after Kevin Willis picked up a technical.

The Raptors answered with a surge of their own, scoring nine of
the next 10 points and closing to 56-54 on Carter's layup with
6:54 left in the period. Carter, the leading candidate for
Rookie of the Year honors, went 10-of-19 from the floor and
grabbed seven rebounds.

But the Nets closed the quarter looking like the playoff team
they were last year rather than the club that shares the NBA's
third-worst record.

Van Horn made a free throw and Kendall Gill, who finished with
15 points, sank a jumper to fuel a 21-5 burst that gave the Nets
their biggest lead at 77-59 in the final minute of the period.
Van Horn had 14 points in the spurt, finishing five shy of a
career high.

"Early in the game I obviously wasn't making my shots," he said.
"I was missing easy ones. Luckily, in the third quarter I was
able to get into the paint, finish strong and help key a big run
for us."

Toronto scored the final five points of the third quarter and
opened the final period on a 14-4 surge, closing to 81-78 with
8:14 to play.

Jamie Feick contributed 12 rebounds for the Nets, who shot 43
percent (39-of-91) and held a 52-42 rebounding advantage.
Toronto made 45 percent (39-of-87) of its field goals.